No. 39

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To make up for his extended absence from the podcast, Steve is joined, on a very special videocast filmed in the HasBean roastery, by none-other than the distinguished Erwin Mierisch of the legendary Fincas Mierisch. In Episode 39, Steve and Erwin walk through the history of the Mierisch family and farms and Erwin’s experience working in coffee thus far, before ending with a serious and thoughtful discussion about recent Cup of Excellence changes.

Also covered: what happens when governments step into coffee farming, Intelligentsia’s producers forum, Dr. Mierish’s hobbies, Steve’s misbehaviour at multiple COE juries, family coffee jobs, the impact of exchange rates on buying and contracts, when cost-cutting measures taint entire lots from competition, and how El Savlador are working to find a COE-replacement using Finca Mierisch’s auction platform.

As operations manager for COE from 2000 to 2011, as well as overseeing multiple farms in Nicaragua and Honduras, Erwin’s experience is vast–we could have kept chatting with him for days–but this is a great introduction to green buying, building relationships, and the history of COE: this is one you really shouldn’t miss!